Victor Law
Generation Y cannot possibly understand the significance of ANZAC Day – this is a statement I have heard a number of times in recent years. It is normally followed by; the day has become too commercialised and it is just another excuse for people to get drunk and rowdy like on Australia Day.
As a Gen Y-er, I must say that for some of us this is true. However, for me and my family, it is something very different entirely.
I never met my grandad, Victor Harold Law. He fought in North Africa in World War II in the 2/6th Australian Field Regiment and was one of the men that returned home. He met and married Ruth Bell Sackett who gave birth to their two sons, Stuart and my dad, John. Vic died when my dad was 19 and Stuart was only 16.
Growing up I never knew Vic’s birthday or the date that he died, I just knew that ANZAC Day was the day we got up early, sat on picnic blankets outside McDonalds on George Street, Sydney and waved at the little old men and women that marched. My sisters and I would smile and wave our Australian flags at them while trying to get in front of the ABC camera crews as the little old ladies threw Minties at us. It was, and remains to be, the most emotional day of the year for my dad. It has always been the day that he honours his father, what he did for his family and indeed his country.
When I met my husband, I was lucky enough to spend two wonderful years getting to know his Grandpa, Thomas Wood Young, before he died. Tom was without a doubt one of the most wonderful people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.
A fighter pilot in the 232 Hurricane Squadron during World War II, Tom spent three and a half years as a Prisoner of War on the Burma Siam Railway. He used to tell me about his time there, including the day he had a bayonet raised to his temple and was almost executed. Surprisingly, he would talk about his time in the POW camp with a smirk on his face, Jules, did I ever tell you about the time I played cricket for Australia? We thrashed the English at the Hintok Prisoner of War camp. He would say with a chuckle. His spirit and his courage live on in every member of his family. What he did for them and their family has not been forgotten, and won’t be for many generations to come.
I understand not everyone has met men, or even heard of men like these in their lives, men who have put their country before themselves. Today is a different time and whether you believe in what our military are doing or not overseas, I hope you can believe in their spirit and above all their courage. ANZAC Day to me isn’t just about Gallipolli, it is about the sacrifice that individual men and women in this country have made, and continue to make, so the rest of us can live our lives in safety.
So when people say that ANZAC Day has lost its significance or is too commercialised, that it doesn’t mean anything to today’s younger generation, I say you are wrong. There are people that think of the day as just another public holiday, but for me and many of the people I know it is about so much more. It is the epitome of freedom, courage, mateship and everything that our wonderful country offers us. It is about remembering Vic and Tom; what they did for me, for you and for this country.
I will continue to celebrate ANZAC Day with pride in my heart, and no matter how you spend your day, I hope you will do the same. Wear rosemary on your shirt, go to a dawn service, play two-up at the pub, hold a BBQ, do whatever it is that makes you happy, because after all, that is what ANZAC Day should be about, freedom and pride in our country.
Above all else, and I this is my most important point, don’t forget ANZAC Day. If people want to talk about the role it plays in our society, and where it is going, at least it is being talked about! The only way I know how to play a part in that is by sharing these thoughts with you. I will continue to live by the words of Rudyard Kipling and I hope you can too.
Lest we forget.
Julie Wright (nee Law) is a public relations consultant born and bred in Sydney. She recently made the move to London to live and work with her hubby. She tweets here and writes a blog about living in London here.
What does Anzac Day mean to you?
Comments
82 Comments so far
hahahahahahahahahaah liers you all suck from Mr Trevenon
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Bit overdramatic a. How do we really know what life would have been like in Aus if Germany conquered Europe? Just like we’re told the Muslims want to take over the world and make us all veil up. Our governments tell us what serves their interests. And this is not denying that Hitler was a racist psycho or that there aren’t radical Islamists who want to destroy our culture. As Leah said though, we haven’t been angels either and we don’t get told about that. There always has to be a bad guy, that’s how governments get their people to agree to them taking whatever action it is they want to. There were obviously other interests at play because the Holocaust happened while the allies weren’t looking. This shows the futility of war, that it was ‘interests’, not people that men and women were dying for. It has happened continously throughout history, for what? . I’m sure every war-monger back to ancient Rome can justify their invasion of this country or that. Yet the human race continues on, after millions have died in wars, yesterday’s allies are today’s enemies and vice versa. Like my Pa said, and he was entitled to as he lost a brother. It is just a waste.
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I understand that there are no winners in war and no ‘good guys’ either, I’m not trying to claim that. But just like the many people who died fighting there were many also many civilians who died or lost loved ones who were very thankful that governments agreed to step in, regardless of their motives. When you say what was the point of it all, it’s not like the WMD debacle where nothing was found, WWII actually stopped a lot of atrocities and persecution. People didn’t die in vain and while it is a waste and a terrible thing, Hitler had a great amount of power and a huge following which means I’m not being dramatic when I guess what the world would be like if things had turned out differently.
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Actually, there are good people in war. They are the ones who preserve their compassion and humanity despite the continual eroding effects of incomprehension, brutal chance and gut-wrenching terror. They’re the people who can overcome the descent into hatred and blind rage to put themselves before not just their friends but also their enemies. They are good people and they are there in every war.
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Jewish friends of mine would not be here today if the Allies had done nothing about the Germans. Their parents and grandparents were freed from the death camps that claimed so many of their other relatives. It wasn’t futile to stop the Holocaust.
A former landlady of mine preferred the risk of torture and death at the hands of the Gestapo to collaborating during the Occupation. It wasn’t futile to drive the Germans out so she and the majority of French people could determine the course of their lives and their country instead of leaving it to the Nazis and their collaborators.
A older Chinese lady I once worked with told me something of what life was like as child in Japanese-controlled Manchuria in the 1930s and 1940s. Several Australia relatives were executed by the Japanese during WW2, others survived appalling treatment. The parents and grandparents of Filipino
relatives could tell equally horrific stories of the Japanese treatment of civilians. It wasn’t futile to oppose the Japanese and stop them inflicting their world view on others.
Fourteen members of my family have died serving their countries. Their deaths were a terrible loss but a waste? Many others carried mental and physical wounds for the rest of their lives. Was that a waste? I think not and I’ve not met anyone in my family who thinks that way.
Sometimes people have to put their lives on the line and say to the greedy, the grasping and the bullying and say “no further”. That’s neither futile nor a waste because sometimes the consequences of acquiescing and doing nothing are far worse than the horrors of doing something.
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We are all entitled to our opinion and debate is good. Perhaps that is the point. Throughout history there have been regimes that sought to stifle any and all debate and to enforce their tyranny on, not only their own people, but those of other sovereign states. We must all decide where our line in the sand is drawn and what deems conflict worthy. I dare say that those whose freedoms are taken from them see conflict and war in a far different light to those of us free to examine and debate it’s worthiness. I am not sure what life in Australia would have been like if Germany prevailed but I am sure that the European nations and those in his evil path are far more than grateful that he was stopped. Dramatic? When my grandfather was their the day Bergen Belsen was liberated they could not even give the survivors water. Why? Because the retreating German guards had poisoned the only water source to avoid testimony of their evil by survivors. Our forefathers did not have our gift of hindsight and I do not possess enough knowledge of the reasons for the war to judge them. On this day each year cannot we all agree to stand side by side and honour the deceased, the survivors, thier families and friends and pray in that one minute of silence that we may see true peace in our lifetime.
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For me ANZAC day is about all the mothers who’s sons didn’t come home. The young brides who lost their husbands and the children who never knew their fathers. It’s about the family I never got to know and the people my family lost. I think of my grat grandmother who had 3 sons go to war and only one of them come home. I think of my great uncles grave in Gallipolli that says my brothers name, knowing that he was the same age as my brother when he was killed. I think of my boyfriends grandad (british) who was one of the first men to enter Bergen-Belsen camp in 1945. I think of the men in pallative care that my mum looks after who have tales of losing more friends, family and brothers in arms than we will ever have to.
The meaning of ANZAC day isn’t lost of my friends & I. Whether you agree with war & the reasons for going to war or not- at least be grateful that you will never experience that loss and devastation that our forefathers did, that your mates will never be sent to war and not come home.
Lest We forget the freedom that our ancestors afforded us & the sacrifices they made in doing so.
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As a Gen Y, I love ANZAC day (Which sounds morbid, I know). But I love what it represents and the significance of the day.
I never had any family members fight for Australia (I think a few distant relatvies died in France in WW1 though), but I still hold the day to a high degree.
My dad has marched in the parade for as long as I can remember (not because he fought in a war, he marches with the NSW Fire Brigade Band) so my earliest memories are watching the parade on TV and watching all the veterans march.
Today, I am a high school history teacher, and I am teaching WW1 this term to year 9. I want the spirit of the ANZACs and the memory and significance of the day to live on in future generations.
Hopefully, I can get that across to my students and one day (if I’m so lucky) to my children.
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My grandfather served in WWII and he said quite simply, “It was a waste.” Looking back through history, there has been war after war, all driven by male testosterone. Then they give the highest honours of our society to those that fight, build monuments, have public holidays to remember them. What about all the women who have died in childbirth through the ages? Where are their medals, monuments and public holidays? Not to mention the fact that they carried these men for nine months, gave birth to them, so that another man can send them off to be shot so some male ego with a need for power or to show dominance is assuaged. I am grateful to those who served our country for the service they perceive they gave to us but if women ran the world, wars would be ridiculed and trivialised, as they should be. And to those who say I would be speaking german now….our kids learn german at school so what was the point of it all.
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The point of it all?? Have you heard of the Holocaust?
I’m glad that you don’t see the point of it all but perhaps spare a thought for the Jewish, the homosexuals, and in fact, anyone not caucasian (including me) who wouldn’t be learning German in school today…because we would be dead!
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We didn’t enter WWII because of the holocaust. We didn’t even know it was happening when we declared war. We killed a great many innocent people ourselves during that time, actually. We’re not exactly angels here, and we didn’t go into it with the best intent.
War is not about good vs. bad. It’s just not that simple.
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I understand this and I know that war is not a good vs evil scenario. I didn’t say that we should or shouldn’t have joined the war.
I was responding to Jacqui’s reflection where she said, ‘And to those who say I would be speaking German now…our kids learn German at school so what was the point of it all.’ It’s a little silly to think that the only difference would be that we would be speaking German instead of English if the Nazis had won the war.
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I may actually be the first GenYer to say this on here, but ANZAC day really has very little interest to me. Yes, the day reminds me of those who have lost their lives in war, but mostly it makes me angry that even though everyone says “lest we forget”, we continue to forget every single day and send troops into more battles to be killed, and to kill others.
I’m not saying that soldiers aren’t brave, and don’t believe that they’re fighting for our freedom, I’m saying that I don’t support a day that glorifies war and continues the unnecessary loss of human lives. I also find that patriotism is often the basis of racism – we use ANZAC day as a way to say that for some reason the atrocities faced by the ANZACs were worse than those inflicted by them, and our government. War is not one sided, and this is a day that we seem to forget that.
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Its pretty sad that you clearly think so little about the tens of thousands of lives lost.
Would you feel better if we hadnt gone in to fight to save the oppressed in all the wars? Are you glad western nations havent stepped in to help the child soldiers?
Im genuinely curious in the above questions. I lost family in both world wars, and whilst it was obviously devastating for generations, I dont see it as being without reason.
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“Would you feel better if we hadnt gone in to fight to save the oppressed in all the wars? Are you glad western nations havent stepped in to help the child soldiers?”
To be honest, I feel like when we talk about our involvement in war, we have a very big us/them mentality that I don’t paticularly support. In most of the wars we fight, we do very little to help the opressed – our involvement in the Vietnam and Afghanistan wars were blanket invasions of countries who were experiencing their own internal conflict. Our presence only ended in the lives of more people, both soldiers and civilians, being killed. Our presence in the world wars was more about keeping our stronger allies happy than helping anyone else out – we weren’t in those wars for humanitarian reasons, we were in them to win territory.
We do very little to help child soldiers, mostly because we end up killing a lot of them ourselves. I honestly believe that every war we’ve engaged in in the last century has been for our own self gain, with ‘humanitarian action’ our excuse to do so.
In no way am I trying to disrespect those who have fought – I’m sure they felt they were doing the right thing, and I applaud their bravery in standing up for what they think is right. I just have a very different idea of what is right.
I’d also like to add that I don’t just think about the tens of thousands of ANZAC lives lost. I think about the lives of Japanese, German and other soldiers and civillians lost in these futile wars. There are no winners and losers, right or wrong in war. Just a whole heap of bloodshed and pain.
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You need to do some research. Google submarines in Sydney Harbor & Bondi beach. Then you might have an idea of why we went to war. We didn’t have a choice.
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I’m well aware that Australia was threatened a handful of times during the wars. Yet had we not gotten ourselves involved in bloodshed that was none of our business, and not gone around bombing other innocent people, we might not have been a target ourselves.
As I said before, it’s just not that simple. Australians aren’t always the heros. Every other country in the world just says they ‘had no choice’ either, so I guess war is no-one’s fault.
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“Would you feel better if we hadnt gone in to fight to save the oppressed in all the wars?”
I’m just wondering – who invaded whom on the 25th of April 1915?
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Does it make the loss of those souls any easier? I think commemorating the noble deaths of these men on ANZAC day is less about glorification, and more about the acknowldgement of the cost of war.
I used to think the way you do, until i realised that i was rubbishing the cause people were willing to lay down their lives for. Something that I was never prepared to do for my country.
Walk a mile in the shoes of others before you belittle a day which is intended to acknowledge the loss of lives in unfortunate circumstances.
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I agree with Cait ! 1000 thumbs up !
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My grandfather served in the Royal Australian Engineers in PNG. My great-grandfather put his age up to fight in WWI and down for WWII.
I haven’t gone to a march since Grandpa died in 2008, but we used to sit not too far down the road from the Maccas on George St, with my Grandma and other family members. I’ve gone to the dawn service the last few years and it’s been a moving experience joining with 20,000 others in Martin Place.
As for Diana’s claims re: the ‘major lie’ that these men fought and died to protect our way of life, I think she oversimplifies the situation. While it may not be the sole reason, it most definitely part of it. Japan was a real threat in WWII, and men fought in the Pacific to protect Australia. Now other wars may not have the same threat causing it, but to lump all wars together and say all they did was serve the ‘industrial-military complex’ is to belittle the issue.
It’s very easy to sit in armchairs and critique the motivations of nations going to war, but like most things in life there is a real mix of good and bad motives at work.
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Any day where men in or out of the service think that it is justified to get blind drunk is ridiculous. Why does celebrating and remembering have to go hand in hand with drinking till you pass out? I wish Australia service men had more class, unfortunately, they don’t.
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As a 26 year old I have no idea who these Gen Y people are who supposedly don’t care about ANZAC Day.
Perhaps a few rowdy rubbish strewing bogans at Gallipoli set a bad example for us all. A shame the media focus on the few when I have never met anyone my age who has nothing other than the deepest respect for our servicemen and women. A handful of political dissenters to military lionising yes, but done so politely.
If anything Gen Y may turn out to feel even more deeply about the ANZAC tradition than some generations above us. It is mostly Gen Ys and X’s who are out fighting wars right now. We had a period of time after Vietnam with only small military involvements. The War on Terror is our era, our teenage lives and our young adult lives have had the WOT as a constant background to our lives. I find it insulting that younger middle aged people, too young for Vietnam, tell us we don’t care when they lived in relative peace, Cold War aside.
Gen Y bashing is so cliched and unrepresentative of the truth. It’s a lazy story of the media. Every generation since the dawn of time has its people who think the ones after it are lazy and disrespectful to their elders.
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Did you know Gen Y-ers were also born without souls?!
Enough generalising. So sick of it. Myself and all the Gen Y-ers I know understand the significance of Anzac Day. We have a huge respect for those who paid the ultimate sacrifice to keep us safe. Those were our grandfathers, great uncles, and are our brothers, sisters, friends and family who fought and continue to do so.
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The truth is that those poor boys died not to make Australia safe, but to serve British imperial interests. It is an absolute horror story. Yes, we should remember them, but by doing so we should be questioning the assumptions that underlie all military decisions, not blindly glorifying the military.
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Exactly, Ruby. Gutsy comment and I completely agree. Australians tell themselves it was to protect the country to make sense of the senseless.
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I don’t think it’s about glorifying the military- rather, it’s remembering the sacrifices these people made for us whether they wanted to be there or not
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I definitely understand that aspect of it. But I get really uncomfortable with all of the jingoistic, patriotic, serve-our-country side of it. They served and are serving the industrial-military complex. Certainly have a day of reflection and respect for people who have witnessed unbelievable horror and people who’ve lost their lives. But don’t buy into the party line that it is or has ever been necessary in order to “protect our way of life”. It’s a major lie and one the people have never held the government to account for.
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Diana, I think I love you.
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There are a lot of comments on this site which are not intended to be taken seriously and indeed I put a few on myself, mostly concerning the manifest evil of Tony Abbott. So I’m not entirely sure that “But don’t buy into the party line that it is or has ever been necessary in order to “protect our way of life”. ” is intended to be taken seriously. But in case it is, can you not think that we might be living a slightly different life if the Nazis or Japanese had won World War 2? I agree that some wars are unnecessary and some were wrong but to extrapolate from this that none should ever be fought is an extraordinary view and one I suspect that the survivors of the concentration camp my grandfather liberated in 1945 might have something to say about. But you weren’t really being serious were you?
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Yeah, the people who were subject to the Japs’ visits to Darwin and the harbour might beg to differ about Australia never having been threatened…
Sometimes it isn’t about just doing what is right for you, it’s what’s right for everyone. Like going to fight Hitler or the Japanese. If people (like those above) don’t think they’d be able to do that, that’s fine, but please don’t suggest that those of us who have stuck our hands up are gullible dopes. (Sorry to hijack your post, Guest!
)
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Kris, as I asked someone else above – who invaded whom on the 25th of April 1915?
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I was, actually. A) I don’t think anyone ever wins a war and B) I believe that all countries have their own agendas and their own parts to play. The government sold its people out. And no, I don’t believe this was about defence. I believe it was sold that way to get the people to willingly fight a dirty war.
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You rendered me unable to take you seriously the minute you wrote “Japs”. Jesus…
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Oh grow up. That is what they were commonly referred to as. Would you be as offended if someone wrote Poms or Yanks?
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No, because they don’t have the same socio-historical pejorative weight.
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So aside from my upsetting you, what do you say to the other points?
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Diana, your agenda is clear and the fact that you can today voice it is testament to the sacrifice of others. You can be as ‘uncomfortable and angry’ as you like. They paid the price so you can.
But don’t think that you don’t owe them anything or that they should have done more. If your ‘modern’ take on it is that war wasn’t necessary to ‘..protect this way of life’ as you put it, simply research the Chinese or Malay experience under the Japanese. This was the very real alternative. But perhaps the facts are inconvenient.
Thank you Anzacs, one and all.
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Look, I really, really didn’t want this to devolve in such a way- despite what you probably think, I’m actually not a troll and I’m very well aware of the sensitivity of the day, so will leave it almost there for now.
What I will say though is that I was unaware that having an unpopular opinion was synonymous with having an agenda. This is an open forum, and I did actually try to express my view in a respectful way. We were asked what Anzac Day meant to us individually, and I answered. It just so happened that I answered in a way that people didn’t like. That doesn’t mean that I’m ignorant or trying to stir shit. It just means that I’m more cynical than some of you. That is actually allowed.
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Mum said there were a couple of Yanks at the Canberra Dawn Service interviewed, and they commented that “We thought we do patriotism well, but you guys walk the talk”, referring to the huge numbers of people at Dawn Services and marches today.
I think Australians are actually pretty good at questioning stuff and deciding whether it’s right or wrong, and have no problem being vocal about their decision and their beliefs.
I wonder if you’ve ever actually attended an ANZAC Day service? No “blindly glorifying the military” at any that I’ve been to. Lots of quiet tears shed and hopes that it’ll never have to happen again, and marvelling at the old diggers who still make it and march at 5.30 in the morning. Not so much with blind glorification though.
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Whoa! Diana really took one for the team there. Anzac day is for ww1, not ww2, so the comments about the Japanese and Darwin… not sure why they’re there.
I have been to a dawn service. they are beautiful. they are how those poor boys should be remembered. i don’t like the other stuff that comes later, the generalised discourse of patriotism and glorification of war (war planes flexing their muscles over the suburbs etc). anzac day should be for remembering what a f***ing cockup war is, especially when somebody up very very high throws young men into horrific situations using brittle rhetoric, as was the situation on anzac day.
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The comments about the Japanese and Darwin are there because she’s saying that Australia has never been under attack or needed people to go to war to defend it. Which is patently untrue.
What is wrong being proud of your country? What is wrong with being proud that you or your relatives signed up and did their bit?
I’d really like to know what your solutions for dealing with aggression like that of the Japanese or the Nazis would have been. What an insult to those who sign up, no matter when, your attitude is. If you don’t agree, that’s fine. But don’t belittle those of us who are proud to have had relatives serve or have served ourselves. Anzac Day stopped only being about WWI when the first person died during WWII.
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please show me where i belittled you. please show me where i said anything about ww2. please show me where i disrespected anybody. i must say, you are coming across quite aggressively and i don’t know why. my original comment stands. the gallipoli landing was a nightmarish thing, and happened for all the wrong reasons. i think anzac day should help us be mindful of that.
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With you all the way Kris. I’m amazed at some of the comments. My grandfather went to war and fought at Kakoda because it was the last chance Australia had of fighting off an invasion. Your ignorance is incredible.
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As a Gen Y, my friends have served 3 tours in Afghanistan, 2 in Iraq and one in East Timor on peace keeping duties. I’m also watching my best friend (at 26) prepare to go to ADFA.
These conflicts may have not been ‘The Great War’, or like my great grandfather who served in North Africa in WW2, but to say that ANZAC Day means nothing to us is, well, nothing short of ridiculous.
Our men and women fought these wars in the hope that we never have to, so that we never have to have the intimate knowledge of what they went through.
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Every ANZAC Day I remember several things.
1. The futility of war.
2. Those who paid the ultimate price for defending many of the freedoms that we take for granted.
3. The freedoms that I enjoy that I will never take for granted.
4. I remember my Dad taking me to the Dawn Service down at Redcliffe the year that he died. I was as sick as the proverbial dog, but there was no way that I was not going to go. We met up with Dad’s old navy pals, and despite bouts of projectile vomitting, I remained at my fathers side for the duration. I was even given a sip of beer at the breakfast after the service. Trust me, the smell of beer and prawns is completely rank to the nose of a sick seven year old.
Later in the morning we made it into Brisbane for the parade. I marched with my Dad and his mates wearing the oversized parka that had kept me warm earlier in the day. I have never been more proud. I’m just so grateful that I was able to be with Dad on what was to be his last march. The memory is so powerful. It really could have happened this morning, everything so vivid.
The day is not about glorifying war. It will never be an anachronism….regardless of how much money the government wishes to throw around to prove that it is. In multi-cultural Australia, the day is about remembering and honouring all of the men and women who have given their lives regardless of which flag they fought under.
May I never live to see the day forgotten.
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thank you, bradley.
“In multi-cultural Australia, the day is about remembering and honouring all of the men and women who have given their lives regardless of which flag they fought under.”
it’s not something you hear very often. but it’s exactly what i think about on ANZAC Day.
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Beautifully put Bradley.
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Every year I take my children into Brisbane city to watch the ANZAC parade. It has been an effort most years, with little children who are ready for a sleep by 10am, but we do it. This year I really enjoyed it because our youngest is nearly 4yo so would happily make his way to the front of the crowd with the other kids and sit where he could see. This meant I didn’t spend the two hours with a toddler on my shoulders or sleeping in my arms for the first time. We don’t have anyone in our family who has served so ANZAC Day is an opportunity to teach my children about the men and women who have served and do serve our country and why that allows us to live in a such a wonderfully free country. We are a big singing family so I make sure we sing songs like Road to Gundagai, Waltzing Matilda, Kiss Me Goodnight Sargent Major so that my kids will grow up knowing those songs. Maybe next year we might even drag them out of bed early for a dawn service. I want them to grow up knowing why they have a public holiday on 25th April every year, it’s not just a day off work. Although I’ll have to teach Mr4 that it’s not the ANZAC biscuit parade!
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I really enjoyed reading this. I don’t mind admitting that I have a few tears in my eyes.
May your kids always appreciate what the day means and I hope that one day they will recount to their own offspring about the parades that you took them to.
People like you make me feel very proud today.
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As a 23yo I can see why some don’t understand the importance of ANZAC day, but the problem isn’t just commercialisation.
For such an important day, nothing should be allowed to open. What’s with this 1pm opening time?
For me, kids should have to go to school on ANZAC day and have their own remembrance/memorial events so they can understand what this day is really about.
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Most kids do something at school the day before. I’m doing placement at a primary school and we spent the whole day doing activities based on the day from the very respectful service in the hall to making ANZAC biscuits.
I come from migrants so in many cases my ancestors were the enemy. While it was always a special day for me it became mreo so when i discovered that my Assyrian great uncle had fought along side the ANZACS makes it better to feel more a part of the country.
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It’s great to know that at least some schools are proactive about teaching kids the meaning of Anzac Day.
I’m also from a migrant background, both my grandfathers served in Italy, so I can understand that’s it’s hard to know where you fit sometimes.
My biggest annoyance (for lack of a better word) is that people my age often think: yay, public holiday! Or yay, double time at work.
I feel like many of us would be more respectful if it was drummed into us at school (with Anzac/remembrance day activities as well as better history teaching)
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I think the larger problem is that, while it is recognised by schools, it has become another night to go out the night before and get smashed. Most people once they leave primary school pay little attention to commemorating anything even if the school does it for them.
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How has ANZAC Day become commercialised?
And what schools don’t commemorate ANZAC Day? I’ve never heard of a school that doesn’t.
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I too am a generation Y-er and feel great pride and sadness on ANZAC day. Both of my grandfathers served in WW2, one too on the Burma Railway (which included 4 years at Changi)…I wish he’d spoken about it, however, no as he’s passed I rely on other people’s recollections, stories and books.
I think it’s a major responsibility for those of us that do feel patriotic and refelctive on a day like today, to pass on the reasons for our pride to those younger than us. Hopefully the littlies of today never meet men and women who have seen such atrocities at war as those of our grandfathers and fathers. I know I’ve spent a lot of time speaking to my students and daughter about the pride and sadness that I feel knowing ;some’ of what these men went through.
Lest we forget.
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A number of my family have served, it wasn’t spoken of either. I only found out this week that my great grandfather served in the Somme and is buried at villers-bretineux. I only found out last year that a great uncle and 2nd cousin served in Tobruk. The only one that ever talked a bit about it was my uncle who served in Egypt, Africa and new guinea where he was captured and sent to changi. My sister was brave enough to ask him for some of his recollections for a school assignment.That was the only time we ever heard of it.
I think not talking of it was fairly common years ago.
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Dear Julie, On behalf of my Dad, my Hero, I thank you for this. Since Dad died, every ANZAC Day for me has been one of the most emotionally sad days of every year. On this day, his day, I cry a lot. He was truly special. A Kokoda veteran and hero in the true sense of the word. I think there are probably more Gen-Yer’s that think like you, than not. I know Dad would thank you too for your words and expressions of respect.
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I am cherishing this Anzac Day as it is the last one that my son may be home for – he is 17 and hoping to go to ADFA next year (but only 2% of applicants get in) If he doesnt get in here then will look at other avenues of entry – basically just wants to serve our country.
My thoughts are with the families of soldiers past and present today – especially the mums who wont get to cuddle their boys today.
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I remember people who have died in wars generally and think especially about the number of civilians that die in modern warfare. My grandad fought in the navy ww2
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Anzac day means stopping for a moment to say thanks. Thanks for fighting to make this world a better place. Thanks for the sacrifices made. I guess in that way its a little bit like the American holiday Thanksgiving.
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Hear, hear
Particulary “do whatever it is that makes you happy, because after all, that is what ANZAC Day should be about, freedom and pride in our country”
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for my family, Anzac day means watching my Dad march. He served in East Timor as a Peacekeeper and every year when he walks past me I swell with pride.
As a teacher, it is when my students learn about Australias history and they hang on every word I say eager to hear more and understand what happened.
Today I watched my dad march but also saw a student holding one of the banners, never have I been so proud of someone I taught.
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As a Gen Y I get very angry at people who say ANZAC Day has no meaning to us. Whilst it may not mean anything to some, it means an awful lot to my family and many of my friends.
Like you Julie, I never got to meet my Pop, a stretcher bearer in the 2/30th Battalion during WW2 was was a POW and worked on the Burma Thai Railroad. Growing up, ANZAC Day was always a day for me reflect on his memory and all the stories I was told about him as a child.
When I was ANZAC Day came to take on a new meaning to me as my father had been posted to Iraq jn November 2003. Fast forward to 2007 when my cousin is posted to Timor and my good friend joins the Army. Said cousin loses two mates in Afghanistan in 2009 and 2010. Said friend does a tour in 2011/2012.
I’ve attended Dawn Services whenever I could and without fail every year on ANZAC Day I’m in tears. I attended the Dawn Service at the Australian War Memorial this morning, a very moving service. Whilst placing waiting to place poppies on the Roll of Honour near on my cousin’s mates names, I witnessed two Gen Y veterans, solemnly placing poppies near many of the names of those lost in Afghanistan, touching each of their mates names, and one of these young men saluted the Roll.
ANZAC Day means very much to a great number of Gen Y and we are going to pass on it’s meaning to future generations.
We will remember them. Lest we forget.
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Typing on my phone seems to create mistakes.
Meant to read when I was 14.
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On the 15th April 1945 my grandfather, Alexander Rice, was one of the British troops to liberate the Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp. I can only imagine the horror of what he encountered that day and the questions it raised in his mind of humanity and what it was capable of. Each Anzac Day I watch generations sharing the stories of war, both tragic and triumphant and I know that we are capable of great good as well as great evil. Each and every poppy a bright red symbol of hope for a peaceful future by those who know the true cost of anything less. Lest we forget.
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My late mother was a survivor of the concentration camp Maidenek. Both my parents lost all their family members. War is a horrific nightmare that I cannot begin to understand.
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Love and light to you and your beloved mother…..
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So well put. I had the good fortune to spend time with a WWii vet growing up and when we could get him to talk about the war he would do it with a cheeky grin. It was a grin that told us that there was more to the story, and there was more to the story that he took to his grave, because what he did he did to protect us, our futures and our freedom.
I also have a Gallipoli vet in my heritage and will in coming years visit the site to honor what he stood for and what our current armed forces are fighting for. Lest we forget.
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My 5 year old son came home from school yesterday saying that they were read a story about the Anzacs and they talked about the meaning of Anzac Day. He then asked me if we could go to the dawn service. At 5am today he excitedly got out of bed, put on a beanie and coat (without argument or bribery on my part) and we drove into the city and joined the thousands of others in Adelaide paying our respects. I’ve lost count of the number of times I have told him today how proud I am of him for his thoughts and compassion for others.
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I am a Gen Y and ANZAC day is so important to my family and friends (who are also gen y). I think it is grossly unfairwhenever I hear comments that my generation ‘don’t get’ the significance of certain days or personalities. My Pop was a commando in WWII and he passed away 10 months ago. This is my first ANZAC day without him and I have been commemorating his memory and those of his comrades and servicemen over all years.
To me ANZAC day is about remembering those young men and women who have so bravely entered the unknown to defend and fight for our way of life.
When I see those elderly men marching, I see the young men who gave up their time with their sweethearts and families. While they may move slowly now, when they were our age they were invincible, strong of will, mind and body, worked hard for their families and were quick to quarrel and defend what was right. Please remember
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I have honestly never heard of anyone saying Gen-Y don’t get Anzac Day. In fact it’s quite the opposite – thousands of young people are going to Gallipoli and the Western Front. The news media likes to show this every year and talk about how numbers are increasing. The amount of people attending Anzac marches and commemorations are also huge.
I teach kids aged 11 to 18 years and all understand and respect the significance of Anzac Day. I’ve never had any students tell me it’s meaningless to them. Certainly in the 1960s things were looking that way. There is a play called ‘The One Day of the Year’ about a father and son arguing about the meaning of Anzac Day and this is set in the early 1960s. However, I would disagree with Julie. I think Gen-Y certainly ‘gets’ it and will carry the traditions and ceremonies forward when the current generation of veterans have left us.
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I think that was a David Williamson play that I studied for year 12. It was rather depressing. I think that attitude still existed to some degree in the 70s when I was growing up.
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Alan Seymour. It’s a wonderful play.
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Anzac Day was always a hard day for my father and many of his friends. He fought in Vietnam, and was haunted by what he had seen and what he had done. Anzac Day was never a day of celebration for the adults I grew up around, it was a day to mourn the friends they had lost and also, for my father and I suspect many others, to mourn the people they had killed and what they had lost by doing so. My great-grandfather fought in WWII, and in later years he raged against the growing pride in the Anzac Spirit. As far as he was concerned, war was something all humanity ought to be ashamed of, never something to be proud of.
The way we celebrate Anzac Day has changed enormously over the years. I doesn’t suprise me that the generations least affected by war are the ones who most want to celebrate the day.
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Dear Anonymous, It’s true, it is also a day of mourning, and that cannot be denied. I understand where both your great-grandfather and your Dad’s thoughts are coming from, especially your Dad. Vietnam Veterans suffered terribly when they returned home, the treatment and lack of respect shown to them was appalling and something I have never understood, possibly, your Dad has never recovered from this treatment as well. I was a teenager when Vietnam started and many of my friends from school were called up and shipped off to experience a horror which we, who were not there, can never understand. Many of my friends, boys I grew up with, never came home. I know it is trite to say there have always been wars, wars are a fact of life, but that’s the answers people give when they have no answers. I think the men and women who go to war, do so on the basis, and in the belief, that someone has cried “Help. We want our freedom. We want democracy.” Much of the time that is true in the beginning. It is noble to down tools and rush to aid someone in distress. All too many times however, this cry for help ends up being turned around into a political international war by some boofhead with other motives. I am sad for your great-grandfather and your Dad, but the other side of this is the celebration that they did come home and the Anzac Spirit is what we, who were not there, endow upon them with gratitude, just as I endow this on my Dad, my aunts, uncles, friends from the past, and now the son of family friends who is serving in Afghanistan.
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My father was never treated badly. Being from a deeply conservative country town he was held up as a hero when he came home. Honestly, I think that’s what upset him the most. That he’d seen the wrongness of the war first-hand, but that he was being used by others to glorify it. He always believed he’d been a coward for going to war. He never believed in it for a second, but he knew if he became a conscientious objector his family would be pariahs. No one he knew ever thought they were doing the right thing, just doing the only thing they could in a horrible situation.
I think the most bothersome thing about the idea of ‘Anzac spirit’ is that it doesn’t acknowledge the deep conflict many soldiers felt. It paints them all as patriots, when in actual fact many held far more resentment towards the country that sent them to fight than towards the people they were forced to fight. It’s just such a simplistic view of something that is incredibly complicated for many, and up until a few decades ago, the grey areas and the solemnness of the occasion were addressed. As I said, over the years Anzac Day has changed greatly.
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thankyou very much for your point of view. I have always had very mixed feelings about Anzac, while I feel deep sorrow for the suffering of those who have been in wars (recent and past) this has always been coupled with suspicion about the politics which put them there and the sheer futility of war in general. Many of those in the past had no choice in their participation, I can’t imagine the horror of being put into that position when you didn’t even believe in the cause. I don’t go to the parades or the dawn service but I do spend the day thinking about it. The suffering and loss deserves to never be forgotten but also should never be glorified.
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I share your conflict. ANZAC Day is a sacred day where we remember the sacrifice of our soldiers, the wars they fought and hope we never need to go through those days again. However, I feel the day was misappropriated during the Howard years to become a celebration of bogan pride rather than a day national sorrow and reflection. Hopefully we will revert to the solemn day it once was.
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Thank you for saying this. I generally keep quiet about My thoughts on Anzac Day because I don’t want to offend people or be insensitive. Watching the dawn service today I was uncomfortable and angry. I don’t mean to diminish the suffering of the returned servicepeople or the memories of those who didn’t return, but I don’t understand the continued patriotism, adherence to military tradition and belief in government. Where’s the rage? I guess there are returned soldiers who are outraged and want nothing to do with it. But I struggle to understand the decades of loyalty to a government which sold them out and killed countless of their friends and loved ones. I don’t get it, I really don’t.
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As a gen y-er I get really angry about the bad wrap that a lot of us get. I love this article.
ANZAC day has meant a lot to me and my family for my whole life for similar reasons. However for many I think ANZAC day means a lot more now as people know people that have fallen in Afghanistan and in recent years.
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Lovely and so true. I firmly believe it’s all about education and exposure. Younger generations need to have both to understand the significance and it is up to us, the older generations (even Gen X and Y!), to teach them. Keep passing those stories down!
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